Facets of Corporate Identity, Communication and Reputation

Citation

Wood, E. (2009), "Facets of Corporate Identity, Communication and Reputation", Journal of Communication Management, Vol. 13 No. 3, pp. 285-287. https://doi.org/10.1108/13632540910976716

This is a useful book, bringing together a number of key thinkers' perspectives on the construction of a corporate image. Contributors include practitioners in this field as well as academics. The book is aimed at students, researchers and practitioners with an interest in marketing, communications and international business. It is organised into three sections, Corporate Identity (CI), Corporate Communications and Corporate Reputation. Each section comprises of four chapters from different contributors addressing some key debates and themes within the area.

The essential debate surrounding the distinction between (and interrelation of) the concepts of identity, image and reputation is usefully elucidated throughout the book. However, these are often considered from within a marketing domain; indeed, this perspective is taken for granted by a number of authors (see, for example, Balmer, p. 48; Alessandri, p. 57). Nevertheless there is plenty of interest to readers from different perspectives, such as the debate around corporate culture and the importance of the environmental context on the projection of a specific corporate identity and the formulation of a corporate image.

Vella and Melewar (pp. 3‐35) specifically aim to encapsulate a cross disciplinary approach in their chapter on the relationship between identity and culture. Their analysis of approaches to organizational culture in some of the literature is a highlight of the book for me. They usefully map controversy in the area, taking a critical approach which might have enhanced some other chapters in the book. This is particularly evident in their recognition of simplistic approaches to culture and the divergence between a functionalist approach, viewing culture as a variable which can be manipulated in order to communicate a specific identity and an interpretivist approach which views culture as a context “that can neither be measured or controlled” (p. 16). Vella and Melewar's review of approaches to conceptualising elements of culture is also of real significance, as is their analysis of the value of Johnson and Scholes' (1992, 2002) culture web to identity management and the presentation of their IFMD model. The IFMD model (Identity Formation, Maturation, and Dissemination at the cultural level of analysis) is of particular interest as it acknowledges the significance of “environmental forces” on identity, defining these forces as ‘industry identity, national culture, professional subcultures, market conditions, reputation, affect of all organizational members and contexts’ (p. 25). This clearly resonates with those who consider issues management as being significant to corporate image and reputation (see also Nelson and Kanso's chapter).

This model seems to presuppose that corporate identity is of management:

Managers envision a set of characteristics they want their organisation to be associated with and these characteristics formulate a corporate identity which is transmitted to employees through a complex and congruent system of communication, behaviour and design. Employees implement strategies …they draw images, interpretations, and meanings from the transmitted corporate identity and from a nexus of cultural and other frames of reference and express what they perceive, think, and feel about their organisation through behaviour, symbols and language (p. 29).

Consequently Vella and Melewar refer to a separate type of identity construct, “organiational identity”, to represent an employee‐led approach.

Practitioners and academics alike should find value in the representation of these different orientations and the acknowledgement of the centrality of culture as a context for interpreting identity and formulating images internally. In terms of trying to formulate approaches to managing identity then, this chapter, and its central model, is useful in demonstrating the complexity of this concept – particularly through the proposition that that CI is not simply a question of managers deciding what the identity is and transmitting it, but that culture and other “noise” (such as environmental influences, national culture etc) will act as filters through which meaning is interpreted or, perhaps, an image is formed. It will be interesting to see if this conceptualisation informs the development of future CI management models to involve employees in the process of formulating a corporate identity, so that identity no longer becomes something that is owned by management and transmitted to employees, but amalgamates both polarities of “corporate” and “organisational” identity into a single inclusive approach.

While Vella and Melewar highlight the influence of the filter of external “environmental forces” on identity formation, elsewhere we are offered examples of good practice from organisations such as McDonalds, Nike and major petroleum giants without any reference to this external environmental “filter”. An uncritical presentation of single aspects of identity management is problematic – it would be more useful to see the links between symbolism, communication and behaviour being emphasised so for example that Nike, and McDonald's are not used as examples of building a corporate identity without any mention of the role played by their behaviour (alleged use of sweatshop labour and promotion of unhealthy food) in relation to their CI? And, readers may ask, does BP's carefully constructed identity result in an environment‐friendly reputation, or associations with greenwash?

Caruana addresses this issue in his chapter, which explores efforts to measure corporate reputation. He critiques the “plethora of measures with myriad dimensions that are meant to capture the corporate reputation construct with little agreement on an acceptable measure with the necessary measurement rigor … ” (p. 198). He argues that many of the measures designed to assess corporate reputation are flawed because they are based on an “underlying assumption that corporate reputation should be a ‘net’ aggregation of the perceptions of all the different stakeholders” (p. 204) and calls for revision of approaches. Caruana goes on to put forward a well argued rationale for pursuing an attitude‐based measure of corporate reputation underpinned by the theory of planned communication (Ajzen, 1988).

So, in summary this book is a great resource full of interesting discussion around definitions of (and distinctions between) corporate identity, image, reputation and brand. When it goes into second edition (which I'm sure it will) it would be useful to encourage some authors to be less self referential ‐ Nelson and Kanso's excellent chapter on effective leadership is just one good example from several in the book which draw on a wide range of sources, in contrast to some which don't. In a similar vein, some chapters could be more clear about the methodologies and sample sizes used in research cited – as Caruana states in his chapter “some of the principal questionnaires currently in use to capture corporate reputation indicate various shortcomings that include both measurement deficiencies and an absence of a clear theoretical base” (p. 208). Authors need to be sure to provide enough information to reassure their readers that research they are citing does not fall into this category. As with any edited collection, in a first edition, contributors are often unaware of the arguments propounded by authors of separate chapters. For example Vella and Melawer present a persuasive argument rejecting the corporate personality construct (p. 7) but elsewhere this concept is used uncritically and without explanation or defence, to underpin approaches. In a second edition it would be useful to see an argument from these authors for a reliance on the personality construct and, more generally, the inclusion of a rigorous critical analysis of the basis of all the concepts drawn upon in all the chapters